Green-Wood Cemetery Mausoleums, Brooklyn, New York

One of America’s earliest rural garden cemeteries, Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York is a significant historical site, in addition to being an active cemetery. Founded in 1838, Green-Wood Cemetery today spans more than 475 acres and is the final resting place for over 560,000 individuals – and has one of the largest collections of 19th and 20th century statuary and mausoleums. Green-Wood Cemetery is a Revolutionary War historic site, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006.

History of Green-Wood Cemetery

The idea for Green-Wood Cemetery started with Henry Evelyn Pierrepont, a Brooklyn resident and social leader. Green-Wood was inspired by Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Pierrepont wanted a naturalistic park-like landscape in the English manner. Green-Wood Cemetery’s 478 acres sprawl across rolling hills and dales and several ponds, and the site is home to a variety of significant architectural feats, noteworthy sculptures and impressive private mausoleums.

The gates for Green-Wood Cemetery were designed by Richard Upjohn in Gothic Revival style, and were built in 1861 of Belleville brownstone. Green-Wood’s historic chapel was completed in 1911, and was the work of architecture firm Warren and Wetmore, who also designed Grand Central Terminal and many other significant New York buildings. Green-Wood Cemetery is home to many noteworthy individuals, including Henry Ward Beecher, Samuel F. B. Morse, Leonard Bernstein, Louis Tiffany, Frank Morgan Wupperman, and many of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt’s family members.

Interment at Green-Wood

Green-Wood Cemetery is technically still an active cemetery, although with 170 years of history and approaching 600,000 people resting here, space is a premium. Green-Wood sells around 200 graves and lots per year, with current projections calling for them to run out of space around the middle of the decade.

Families or individuals who would like to be interred in this historic cemetery can still choose from cremation, above-ground burial, or in-ground burial. Green-Wood Cemetery features several community mausoleums for cremated remains or above-ground entombment. Green-Wood can also accommodate a private mausoleum or family mausoleum through its mausoleum and sarcophagus sites.

Green-Wood Cemetery’s Historic Private and Family Mausoleums

Green-Wood Cemetery is home to an extensive collection of historic private and family mausoleums. Some of the most noteworthy of these private family mausoleums include:

Canda Mausoleum: The Canda Mausoleum was actually the design of a teenage girl who sketched the monument for her deceased aunt. Charlotte Canda died in a tragic carriage accident, and her father took her sketch to sculptor Robert Launitz to craft the monument for Charlotte.

Van Ness Parsons Mausoleum: The Van Ness Parsons Mausoleum is an interesting hybrid of Egyptian symbolism and architecture combined with Christian figures and symbols. This private mausoleum is a classic example of the conflict between Christian religious values and the pagan symbolism of Egyptian culture that lends itself naturally to funerary architecture.

Matthews Mausoleum: The Matthews Mausoleum, crafted by Karl Muller, won an award shortly after it was built in 1870. However, in 1878, noted art critic Effie Brower said that it reflected “the hideousness of morbid taste.” Whether you appreciate this open-air private mausoleum or not, it’s certainly one of the most effervescent tombs gracing Green-Wood’s grounds.

Pierrepont Catafalque: The Gothic Revival Pierrepont Catafalque is the final resting place of Henry Pierrepont, the founder of Green-Wood Cemetery. The design for this catafalque has been attributed to Richard Upjohn and his son Richard Mitchell Upjohn, the same team who designed the Green-Wood Cemetery entrance.

As a National Historic Site rich in heritage and cultural significance, Green-Wood Cemetery remains one of the nation’s most important and historic burial grounds, one of the most impressive collections of outdoor statuary, and one of the largest collections of private and family mausoleums.[Dachary Carey] Google+

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